As more people decide to venture down the start-up path every day, resources, accelerators, and communities spring up to help them. For a city that prides itself on being weird, a typical journey through our current system in Austin often allows for nothing but a cookie cutter experience, a strict set of parameters, a tight maze to navigate, and a narrow notion of success. There are myriad people who have been shut out of this current system, including filmmakers, musicians, artists, women, minorities, and social entrepreneurs who value sustainability over a narrow version of profitability. We believe that it's time for a new approach. It's time to provide creators and innovators with the nourishing, supportive, co-creating space and network they need to develop their ideas, launch their ventures and have a sustaining career.

We're accepting applications for the January 2017 cohorts:

Creative Solopreneurs

Filmmakers, musicians, artists and other creatives eager to bring their ideas to life in a nourishing collaborative program.

Women in Impact

Women founders of social impact concepts, at any stage, looking for the support they need to bring their idea to life.

A mentor is not someone who walks ahead of us to show us how they did it. A mentor walks alongside us to show us what we can do.

— Simon Sinek

The Un.Incubator Structure

We understand that starting something takes time, and sometimes you need to digest, reconnect, and get some perspective before proceeding. The Un.Incubator's unique flow allows you to come into the program, get what you need, and take a break when it makes sense for you and your business.

Each curriculum stage is formatted to fit within a three-month block. One month is devoted to workshops, educational opportunities, and collaborating with your fellow creators. The following two-months are designed to allow you to be connected to the community, work with mentors, refine your ideas, and give you much needed space for your body and mind to get in sync.

Idea

October-December 2016

You have a burning ember inside, although you may be at shifting stages of illumination around what that spark is. The idea phase is about peeling back the layers and discovering how you make your impact. With guided workshops around clarifying what fuels you, distilling the problem you are aiming to solve, and learning to fail fast and repeat, this phase is designed to help you take that idea from a spark to a values-based framework for what's to come. This phase is also designed to help you as you help others venture down this path.

Identity

January-March 2017

Your idea is solid. Now, what? It's time to put pen to paper and lay out a structure, bring in some accountability, schedule a few deadlines. It's also time to define your audience, create a brand and story, and find creative collaborators to help you bring your idea to life. The identity phase gives you the time and space to capitalize on the momentum you've built around your idea, and grow your community of supporters, advisors, and collaborators.

Sustainability

April-June 2017

You've gone to market. Congrats! Now comes the reality check. You've also realized that you need to adjust your product or service to serve your audience more completely or redefine who your audience is. This phase is about reconciling what you've learned, and adapting to that change in ways that help you sell and market your business over the long haul. Is what you are doing, or selling, valuable? Do you truly know who values it?

Un.Incubator Benefits

Each 3-month session of the Un.Incubator is $600, payable monthly in $200 increments. Here's what's included in each 3-month block.

3 months of coworking

Flexible Curriculum

Designed to fit you at three different stages of your business: IDEA, IDENTITY & SUSTAINABILITY. Each stage is 3-months long.

GUIDED WORKSHOPs

Access to mentors

We believe that to create a sustainable career, your business needs to align with your passions, values, and who you are at your core. You'll benefit from guided workshops that help you keep your business in sync with you at every stage. Experience these workshops alongside your fellow-Un.Incubatees.

We believe in relationships with mentors who walk alongside you every step of the way. Our mentors come from a variety of disciplines and have a breadth of business experience across many functional areas. From coaches to wellness experts to operations, marketing, and financial gurus, you'll never journey alone.

WeLLNESS AND LONGEVITY

A SAFE & CONFIDENTIAL SPACE TO CREATE

We believe that success in the social impact space means a long career, and that means focus on your mental and emotional wellbeing. Our partnership with ICF provides you access to certified coaches and the opportunity to work through barriers along the path.

We believe in the importance of not feeling like you are in this alone. It is essential to regularly check in with trusted collaborators, partners, and fellow-Un.Incubatees along the way. Great businesses aren't created in a vacuum; differing perspectives help you continually hone and vet your approach.

Why Un.Incubate?

Every week we meet women who have ideas for impact, but don't see themselves a entrepreneurs. Filmmakers, creatives, writers, nonprofit veterans and others. We think it's time to expand access to support those who the traditional incubators do not serve. It's time to empower their careers and lives in impact and measure success based on the longevity of their impact, not just on the speed of financial returns.

We also believe that the traditional incubator model: rigid in structure, singular in method, driven by investors, focused on learning from experts vs. collaborating alongside mentors and peers, is not an ideal path to build sustainable careers or impact-focused businesses. The Un.Incubator celebrates the very organic act of creating something meaningful.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” - Dr. Seuss

We believe...

A successful career is one that brings along the whole being, aligning passion and purpose.

There is too limited a definition of social impact is, and how to do it.

There are too few resources for creators pursuing a solo career.

Providing a clearer and more collaborative path for creatives will allow them to find the courage they need

to move forward and the momentum to reach their goal of sustainability.

That profitability is not the singular measure of impact.

There is not a singular path to sustainability.

We believe that social impact can look like...

A documentary filmmaker telling the stories of under-represented communities

A female founder of a nonprofit helping domestic violence survivors

A musician connecting with people through their medium

A gallery owner creating opportunities for young artists

Who is the Un.Incubator for? You...

...are a solopreneur (marketer, filmmaker, musician, writer, _______) who yearns for support to build your brand

...are a female social entrepreneur starting your business, and feel that the current accelerators/incubators don't meet your needs,

...have an idea for a social impact business, but don't know where to start,

...work in social impact in a nonprofit or for-profit role, and you have an idea for a new program or want to change an existing program,